I'm back from my weekend visit and back in the game. I salvaged a few scenes from my first draft of Kaleidoscope Chapter 30 and wrote a few new ones. I'm still torn between forwarding the story rather drastically (the way I did in the first draft) or (doing the right thing) and filling in the necessary foundation for the rest of the story before plowing on towards The End (which can not come too soon!)

Over the weekend, I read Akhnathon, a play by Agatha Christie. Quite interesting. I might even review it later. What most fascinated me was the near-historical accuracy of the cast of characters and the narrated events. The play tanked theatre-wide, which goes to show that an established name isn't everything. A part of me suspects that that has less to do with the quality of the play (which is really, really very good) and more to do with the reason why Agatha Christie wrote non-mysteries under a pseudonym. The audience expected a mystery and was so let down by the actual story that they simply did not give it a chance.

I think there's a lesson for all of us there - when writing out of genre, use a pen-name. Of course, it helps not to be a particular genre-writer in the first place - something which I strive to be. On the other hand, the appeal of the Alias factor is quite hard to resist. Won't it be wonderful to be not just one but two Best Selling writers at the same time? :p

***[Wikipedia]: While on location in Mâcon, France, filming the Father Brown movie, actor Alec Guinness was approached by a young French boy who, seeing him in costume, exclaimed 'Mon père!' and, hanging on his arm, chatted away in French. Eventually, the boy said goodbye and left. Guinness, amazed and impressed that the cassock of a priest could inspire such trust and happiness in a child who was such a complete stranger, started to investigate the Roman Catholic faith, and subsequently joined the Catholic Church.[R]

This really happened. I'm not sure which is more amazing - the story of probably the most indirect form of conversion ever - or the fact that I have a reason to like Ben Kenobi. (Not that I did not like him before or anything like that. :P) But joking aside, that really says a lot about the power of writing and cause and effect and deep theological, philosophical concepts like that.

You gonna read Rev's Inquest?I've been planning to read it since like forever and - long story here and skipping - I re-discovered it over the weekend. I like strong female characters and the idea of Sabe as an Imperial is quite original. I don't think I've ever seen it done anywhere.

I might. As I said, it's an interesting idea, although my fandom knowledge we limit it to anything Star Wars related, although I could try other fandoms, but readers would have to be warned that it might not be as good as they would hope.